Kaua‘i firefighters quickly contained and extinguished a brush fire that covered a quarter-acre at a hillside encampment near Ahukini Landing this past Saturday. According to the Kaua‘i County's official news release, the team received the report of the fire just after 6:10 p.m. and sprang into action without report of any injuries.
The response unit, consisting of personnel from the Līhu‘e Fire Station, Rescue 3, Tanker 1, and Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting, as well as the on-duty Battalion Chief, having to face the blaze made up of trash and brush, managed to subdue the flames by 6:20 p.m. The remaining pockets of fire were fully extinguished shortly thereafter, with the fire department using about 4,000 gallons of water throughout the operation. Despite no injuries were reported, the cause of the fire remains undetermined.
Combing through the remnants for clues, fire officials are yet to narrow down the factors that may have sparked the fire. It is still unclear how the pile of debris at the campsite caught aflame, giving fire personnel pause as they sought to determine a cause. The official report declared the cause as 'undetermined' and did not speculate on whether the fire was an accident or acts of negligence, or even potentially an incident of arson.
The scene was completed cleared by 7:35 p.m., as reported by the Kaua‘i County news page, leaving the affected area safe for residents and wildlife alike.
